Consider for a moment that you are on the NCAA selection committee. Unless Marquette makes a miraculous run and wins the CUSA tournament, would you really want them in the Big Dance? With Travis Diener, MU at least had a foot in the door for the NCAA's. But with Diener shelved for the rest of the season, that door seems to have closed.
Before #34 broke bones in his left hand, MU had a slim chance of getting an at-large bid to the tournament, but nonetheless, whenever a team features one of the premier playmakers in the country and arguably the best player in his respected conference, not to mention a possible All-America selection, it gives that team a bonafide chance to get a bid in the eyes of the selection committee. While Marquette has showed little or no consistency throughout its regular season conference schedule, a player of Diener's caliber can, at times, single handedly carry his squad to the sweet sixteen. That is something that the selection committee takes into consideration.
But now what separates MU from average teams or even great Division III teams? Not a whole lot. Now does anyone honestly feel that the Golden Eagles could string together a few victories and make a little run in the tournament? The obvious answer is no. They have no proven leader or anyone else that plays with consistency. Other teams know this as well. Look what happened when MU (sans Diener) took on Louisville at Freedom Hall: A 47-point shellacking. Rick Pitino even cited that they knew without Diener, his team is substantially better than Marquette's. Tell me Cincinnati isn't thinking the same thing. No matter how one breaks it down, MU's chances of making the postseason tournament appear over, unless of course you're a member of the NIT selection crew. But even then, should MU finish out its regular season 1-2 and lose in the first round of its conference tournament, why would you want them playing in the postseason at all?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment